Adjusting bolt



' March 1969 y. .1. ULATOWSKI 3,430,996

ADJUSTING BOLT Filed Sept. 8, 1966 Sheet of 2 March 1969 v. .1. ULATOWSKI 3,430,996

ADJUSTING BOLT Filed Sept. 8, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 l5 Wham If wing/h! 5 M i w United States Patent 3,430,996 ADJUSTING BOLT Vincent J. Ulatowski, Exton, Pa., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 578,090 US. Cl. 287-18936 6 Claims Int. Cl. F161) 1/00, 7/00, 23

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Bolt used for adjusting luminaire slipfitter has a fixed head at one end, a threaded portion intermediate its ends for adjustably engaging a slipfitter clamp member, and a nut at its other end force-fitted onto a splined portion of the bolt.

The present invention relates to an adjustable fastening device, and more particularly to an improved adjusting bolt adapted for use in a variety of applications.

It is an object of the invention to provide an adjusting bolt which is adapted for actuation at opposite ends.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide an adjusting bolt of the above type which is readily assembled on the parts to be adjusted or fastened thereby.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an adjusting bolt of the above type having fixed actuating head portions at opposite ends for alternative engagement at either end of the adjusting bolt by an appropriate tool such as a wrench for relative adjustment of parts operatively associated with the bolt.

Another object of the invention is to provide relatively adjustable parts connected by an adjusting bolt of the above type which is constructed to permit actuation at either end for adjusting the parts.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

With the above objects in view, the present invention relates, in its broad aspects, to a bolt having enlarged head portions at opposite ends and being formed intermediate its ends with a helically threaded portion adapted to threadably engage an adjustable part, whereby the bolt may be actuated at either end for moving the adjustable part along the longitudinal axis of the bolt. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, one end portion of the bolt is slightly smaller in diameter than the diameter of the bolt at its helically threaded portion, and the head portion at that end comprises a nut force-fitted thereon.

The invention will be better understood from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an adjusting bolt constructed according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, in exploded form, of the adjusting bolt;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of an adjustable luminaire support structure embodying adjusting bolts constructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a view of the FIGURE 3 arrangement taken along the line 44.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown an adjusting bolt 1 having an elongated shank 2 formed with a helically threaded portion 3 and having a polygonal head 4 formed integral therewith at one end and projecting radially beyond shank 2. The opposite end portion 5 of bolt 1 is smaller in diameter than threaded shank 2 and is formed around its circumference with longitudinal splines 6. The outer diameter of the splined portion is greater than the diameter of the end portion 5 but smaller than that of threaded shank 2. Nut 7, which is preferably generally ice similar in size and shape to head 4 and which has a smooth interior surface, is force-fitted onto splined portion 6 so as to be non-rotatably fixed thereon to permit turning the bolt thereby with at least as much torque as is applicable on integral head 4. The non-splined end portion 5 is of sufficient length to keep nut 7 in propert alignment with the bolt axis when pressure is applied thereto during assembly.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show the application of bolt 1 to an adjustable clamping device such as employed in a luminaire support or slipfitter. Such a luminaire slipfitter is disclosed in greater detail in co-pending application Ser. No. 527,695, filed Feb. 16, 1966 in the name of S. L. Baldwin, now Patent 3,387,866 issued June 11, 1968 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the rear portion of the luminaire in which the slipfitter device is located. The luminaire has an upper housing .10 open at its bottom and having an opening at its rear end through which a pipe support 11 may be inserted and clamped by the slipfitter device for mounting the luminaire in operating position. Such clamping is provided by two adjusting bolts 1, 1 constructed in accordance with the invention which extend freely through vertical passages 15, 15' formed in the housing on opposite sides of a pipe bearing member 12 connected to the housing, the lower portions of bolts 1, 1 passing through threaded apertures in a clamping yoke member 13 as shown. The upper integral heads 4, 4 of the bolts engage the outer surfaces of housing 1 around the tops of vertical passages 15, 15'. Threaded portions 3, 3' engage the correspondingly threaded apertures in yoke member 13, with lower nuts 7, 7 which are force-fitted on the splined portions accordingly being located below the yoke member. As will be understood, in assembling these parts, each bolt without its lower nut in place is first inserted through passages 15, 15 from the top of housing 10, its lower end including the splined portion is then passed through the respective threaded apertures in yoke member v13, which have a larger diameter than the splined portions, and the bolt is then rotated with the threaded portion thereof in engagement with the threaded apertures of the yoke member so that the splined portions of the bolts extend substantially below yoke member 13. Nuts 7, 7' are then force-fitted onto the splined portions by a hydraulic press or other suitable tool to non-rotatably fix these nuts on the bolts.

By virtue of this arrangement, yoke member 13 may be tightened or loosened on support pipe 11 by turning the outside bolt heads 4, 4' or the inside bolt heads 7, 7. In a luminaire of the type illustrated, the inside bolt heads 7, 7 are made readily accessible, even with the luminaire in mounted position, by opening bottom door 16 (sec FIGURE 4) so that it swings downwardly on hinge 17 at the read end of housing 10, as more fully shown in the aforementioned copending application. In this way, the slipfitter can be adjusted from below the luminaire in a position in which the service man can see the parts to be adjusted.

If desired, the bolt heads at opposite ends of the adjusting bolts may be of dilferent shape. For example, for purposes of safety or protection against tampering, the outside bolt heads may be of non-standard shape which fit only a specially designed tool, whereas the inside bolt heads may be of usual standard hexagonal form operated by standard socket or wrench tools.

While the invention has been described particularly in connection wtih a luminaire slipfitter, it will be evident that it may have application in a number of other devices. In general, the adjusting bolt device is useful for adjusting or clamping a movable part from opposite sides, especially from opposite sides of a barrier or wall, where such alternative operation is desirable for any reason. Accordingly, it will be understood that numerous modifications and variations from the particular embodiment shown may be made by those skilled in the art without actually departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover all such equivalent variations as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A bolt comprising a shank having opposite ends, a first head at one end having wrenching means thereon and having a larger diameter than said shank, said shank being formed intermediate its ends with a helically threaded portion and formed at its other end with a portion smaller in diameter than said helically threaded portion, and a polygonal second head larger in diameter than said helically threaded portion secured to said other end portion, said first head being integral with said shank, said second head comprising a nut force-fitted on said other end portion, said other end portion being formed with longitudinal splines on which said nut is axially force-fitted.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, said splined portion being spaced from said other end.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein an adjustable member threadably engages said helically threaded portion of said bolt shank, whereby the adjustable member may be moved along said shank by actuating the head at either end of the bolt.

4. A device as defined in claim 3, further comprising a stationary member through which said shank freely passes with said first head on one side of said stationary member, and said adjustable member and said second head on the other side of said stationary member, whereby said adjustable member may be moved along said shank toward and away from said stationary member by actuating the head at either end of the bolt.

5. In a luminaire, a housing having an open end for receiving an elongated support member on which the luminaire is adapted to be mounted, bearing means on said housing for engaging one side of the support member, movable clamp means in said housing for engaging the opposite side of the support member, and adjusting bolt means for adjusting said clamp means toward and away from said bearing means for releasably clamping the elongated support member, said adjusting bolt means comprising a shank naving opposite ends and passing freely through said housing adjacent said bearing means, a first head at one end of said shank having wrenching means thereon and engaging one side of said housing, said shank being formed intermediate its ends with a helically threaded portion threadably engaging said movable clamp means on the other side of said housing, and formed at its other end with a portion smaller in diameter than said helically threaded portion, said other end having a plurality of longitudinal splines thereon, and a polygonal second head comprising a nut force-fitted on the splines on said other end portion, whereby said adjusting bolt may be actuated at either end and on opposite sides of said housing for moving said clamp means toward and away from said bearing means.

6. A bolt comprising a shank having opposite ends, a first head at one end having wrenching means thereon and having a larger diameter than said shank, said shank being formed intermediate its ends with a helically threaded portion and formed at its other end, with a portion smaller in diameter than said helically threaded portion, said other end portion having axially directed protrusion means thereon, and a polygonal second head larger in diameter than said helically threaded portion secured to said other end portion in force-fitted, nonrotational engagement therewith.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,137,042 4/1915 Willison 1512 1,801,846 4/1931 Campbell -36 2,397,849 4/ 1946 Engeln.

2,946,518 7/1960 Wahlin 285--197 3,144,805 8/1964 Lee 85-81 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,186,692 2/ 1965 Germany.

750,894 6/ 1956 Great Britain.

EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner.

R. S. BRITTS, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

